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Wighton
Nation Information :'' Wighton is a sizeable, well developed, and old nation at 290 days old with citizens primarily of Mixed ethnicity whose religion is Christianity. Its technology is first rate and its citizens marvel at the astonishing advancements within their nation. Its citizens pay extremely high taxes and many despise their government as a result. The citizens of Wighton work diligently to produce Silver and Coal as tradable resources for their nation. It is an aggressive country that some say has an itch for war. When it comes to nuclear weapons Wighton will not research or develop nuclear weapons. The military of Wighton has been positioned at all border crossings and is arresting all drug traffickers. Wighton allows its citizens to openly protest their government, even if it means violence. Its borders are closed to all forms of immigration. Wighton believes in the freedom of speech and feels that it is every citizen's right to speak freely about their government. The government gives foreign aid when it can, but looks to take care of its own people first. Wighton will not make deals with another country that has a poor history of inhuman treatment of its citizens. The Government of Wighton The Commonwealth of Wighton is, by charter, a liberal, federal republic. However, the executive branch is run by an IRON-appointed Governor-Plenipotentiary, who serves a life term. The Governor-Plenipotentiary only has the ability to propose legislation, veto and line-item veto bills, conduct diplomatic and corporate relations, and send the military to war for no more than one week's time without Congressional approval. The current Governor-Plenipotentiary is Varrin von Coursca, the current Secretary of State for the Independent Republic of Orange Nations. Executive Branch Within his own branch, the Governor-Plenipotentiary is appropriated a budget by the Congress to run the executive branch as he pleases. The executive branch is now characterized by four major departments: the Department of State, the Department of Defense, the Department of the Interior, and the Department of Education. The largest of these departments, the Department of the Interior, was one of the original three executive departments and manages all internal affairs (except education). The Department of the Interior is responsible for maintaining fair trading practices in the Wighton Stock Exchange, the Interstate Highway System (including the world-record holding Trans-Pacific Tunnel; it was named for the New Pacific Order, which sent architects and engineers critical to the project), and the Social Security System. Newly under the authority of the Department of the Interior is the Wighton Disaster Relief Agency (WDRA). For now, it will be an agency under the Department of the Interior, but depending on how the Congress votes when it is back in session, the WDRA could be the newest department-level agency. The Department of Defense is the second largest of the departments and runs the military's three branches: the Army, the Air Corp, and the Navy. Because of Wighton's unique geography (almost 98% of Wighton's territory is water), the Wightonian Army is best known for its amphibious combat vehicles, including prototype hover-tanks which will likely enter service in mid-2009. Wighton also maintains a relatively large navy for a nation of its size, well known for their stealth destroyers and for maintaining some of the largest tonnage missile cruisers in the world. The Department of State, the third largest department, is charged with maintaining good relations with IRON and with other, non-IRON nation-states. The newest department, the Department of Education, was established to begin the planning of Wighton's proposed RU/VH-class university in addition to easing the burden of the Department of the Interior. Presently there is only a Master's/L-class university and a Master's/M-class university in the Commonwealth. The University of Wightstag is a Master's/L-class university and Wightonia University is a Master's/M-class university. Each offer extensive undergraduate and Master's level programs. All potential doctoral students are sent abroad throughout IRON for further education. Presently, there is a plan to finish construction in January 2009. The proposed name is the University of Wighton. The Legislative Branch The Congress, which is housed in Wightstag, is a bicameral body. The upper house, the Board of Visitors, is composed of 15 Visitors elected by the lower house. The lower house, the House of Representatives, is composed of 50 Representatives. 35 of the Representatives come from Greater Wighton, while the other 15 come from Outer Wighton. The Governor-Plenipotentiary, any Visitor, and any Representative can propose legislation. Legislation requires majorities in both houses and the approval of the Governor-Plenipotentiary. Vetoes by the Governor-Plenipotentiary can be overridden by 34 votes (66% + 1) from the House and 11 (66% + 1) votes from the Board. Elections for the Board are done by town or city. There are only 11 towns and 4 cities in Wighton. As cities and towns are established, more Visitors will be added accordingly. Board members serve two duties. First and foremost, they are the mayors of their cities or towns. Second, they are members of the Board of Visitors and vote on legislation in the Congress. The term for a Visitor is five years. They may run for reelection no more than twice consecutively. Elections for the House are done at-large within the two administrative divisions of Wighton: Greater Wighton (35 seats) and Outer Wighton (15 seats). The electoral system is a choice voting system. Representatives are elected on a staggered basis. One fifth of the House is up for reelection every year. The term for a Representative is also five years, changed from three years in order to reduce cash spent on elections. While there are no specific provisions for committees in the charter, the House has begun to use Standing and Ad Hoc committees to help better draft and understand proposed legislation. However, it only requires one Representative, one Visitor, or the Governor-Plenipotentiary for legislation to make the floor. In order to prevent using masses of legislation to distract or delay business in the Congress, the charter was amended with a rule stipulating that non-germane amendments and legislation may not be proposed while there is an item already being discussed on the floor (the "one floor, one item" rule). Judicial Branch The Federal Court of Wighton is comprised of five Justices. The Justices are nominated by the Board of Visitors for life terms, confirmed by the House of Representatives, and approved by the Governor-Plenipotentiary. Veto override rules apply normally for the judicial appointment process. Justices are the ultimate source of interpretation of the law and of the charter of Wighton. Greater Wighton Greater Wighton is defined as the area immediately surrounding Wighton Island, encompassing around 40 small islands, five medium islands, and two large, main islands. The two main islands are Wighton Island and Heard Island. Of the small island chains, the most significant is the McDonald chain. Wightstag (population 60,000), the capital of Wighton, is located on Wighton Island. Other notable cities include Wightonia (population 12,000), located on Heard Island, Hildestown (population 6,500), located on Wighton Island, and Fort Kilo (population varies), a major military complex for the Wightonian Armed forces, located on Wighton Island. Originally upon founding, Wighton Island residents had to take large ferries across the Southern Indian Ocean to get to Heard Island and Wightonia. However, with the help of the Republic and its allies, an underwater tunnel capable of weathering the cold, rough seas. Fortunately, the shelf around Wighton and Heard Islands are low enough such that engineers only had to deal with the extremely cold and choppy seas while digging and positioning tunnel sections. Now a large interstate highway system runs from Fort Kilo, through Hildestown, into Wightstag, and connects to the Trans-Pacific Tunnel (named for the Order, not the Ocean). The Tunnel branches off in two places: the southern branch leads to Heard Island and Wightonia. The northern branch leads to one of the largest of the McDonald Islands containing a large naval installation under construction there (infamous as the "tunnel to absolutely nowhere"). The interstate highway then runs throughout Wightonia and ends at the southern tip of the city. Wightstag Wightstag, the capital of Wighton, has a population of approximately 60,000 people and is the largest city in the Commonwealth. Wightstag is known for being one of the smallest cities in the world with high-rise structures. Several notable buildings include 1 Principal Avenue (the capitol building housing the House and its offices), 1808 Capital Plaza (the headquarters of the Board of Visitors and the Department of the Interior), 3142 Enterprise Avenue (the Wighton stock exchange and office building), 2277 Capital Plaza (the only building in Wighton with its own zip-code, housing the Governor-Plenipotentiary's residence and the Department of State; tallest building in the Commonwealth), and 2 Principal Avenue (housing the Department of Defense). Other notable buildings include the Old Capital Building at the Capital Plaza (which now houses the federal Judicial branch), 3000 Enterprise Avenue (the headquarters building of IRON Airlines), and St. Joseph's Cathedral, a large Christian church which accommodates multiple denominations. Due to Wightstag's many natural ports and location, it has become a major shipping hub between Outer Wighton's ports and the African and Australian continents. Several large shipping, manufacturing, retail, and finance companies and firms have been founded in Wighton as a result. Of the companies indigenous to Wightstag: Kerguelen General Manufacturing Company (the primary manufacturer of electronics and other consumer goods in Wighton), WightCo (a large department store retail chain), Mt. Ross Mutual (Wighton's major banking and finance company), and Cook Transportation Incorporated (a large shipping company that services the entirety of the Indian Ocean). These companies all have corporate headquarters based in Wightstag. Newly constructed in Wightstag is a new federal complex called the Wighton Disaster Relief Agency (WDRA), which has greatly expanded technology imports and exports in addition to increasing foreign aids. The construction of the new agency has created nearly two thousand (2,000) new jobs in Wightstag. There was a piece of legislation on the table in the House and in the Board to create a new federal agency under the Office of the Governor-Plenipotentiary to run the day-to-day operations of the WDRA. Unfortunately, the vote did not pass and the WDRA is under the authority of the Department of the Interior. One of the largest construction projects in the history of Wighton is currently ongoing in Wightstag: an Internet and telecommunications center designed to grant full, free Internet access to the entirety of Wighton. The hope is that it will spur this new, potentially limitless sector of the economy in Wighton. The Wighton Telecommunications Hub (WTH) will create about two thousand (2,000) new jobs in Wightstag and a few hundred more throughout Wighton on the whole. The project is due to be completed next month and will be funded by the 0.5% Internet tax imposed on all sales transactions made over the Internet in Wighton. Work in progress... Outer Wighton Work in progress... Directory of Elected Officials Directory of Important Officials Department of State Wightonian Department of Defense Force Organizational Structure Coursca 19:30, 23 October 2008 (UTC) Category:Good Nation Pages Category:Nations of Antarctica